Morton Fraser (Macdonalds)

Scottish firms Morton Fraser and Macdonalds are set to merge in the first quarter of 2013, creating a firm with turnover of more than £17m and 83 lawyers.

The news, announced in December 2012, came six months after Morton Fraser’s chief executive Duncan Murray told The Lawyer that mergers would be key to achieving the firm’s ambition to build a UK-wide practice.

The tie-up is set to go live in the first quarter of 2013, with the combined firm operating under the Morton Fraser brand. The addition of Macdonalds gifts Morton Fraser 18 lawyers across offices in Glasgow and East Kilbride. Following the merger, Morton Fraser is expected to have 13 partners in Glasgow.

Morton Fraser's turnover was £14.3m in 2011–12, down from £14.6m in 2010–11. MacDonalds, which lists its key clients as being in the house building, life assurance, pensions and charities sectors, did not make it into the UK 200last year.

Morton Fraser is understood to be extremely competitive on pricing, tendering for certain volume work at a rate of around £75 per hour. New client wins at the end of the past financial year included the Scottish government and the UK Government in Scotland, providing property advice to both.